“Hi. My name is Sharita, and I have issues with obedience.”
(Insert chorus of “HI SHARITA” here.)
Sigh. Maybe I’m the only one… But my stubborn, driven nature sure provides opposition to my call to be obedient to the Lord.
I’m dealing with that right now. The seasons of our life in our family are changing and I think I am in denial. I had a good groove going, and now God is shaking up my little snow globe life, changing things all around.
I don’t mind change. I really don’t. Only I was really digging the chug-a-lug of the way things were.
However, He’s calling me out. And as I try to listen, I am faced with opposition from a variety of directions. Here’s a little opposition list, in no particular order.
1. The world. This wonderful (fallen-sigh) world that we live in is all about success, cash, being driven, self-gratification, more-is-more mentality. But all of that goes against the principles that Christ laid out before us. It makes things complicated.
2. The enemy. Oh yeah, can’t forget about this jerkface. The author of destruction and confusion gets all up in my grill, wreaking havoc on best intentions. This sneaky punk has a way with selling little half truth-lies to my brain/heart. And let’s not forget that Satan has a tendency to use GOOD things to distract us from GOD’S BEST. Have I mentioned that he is REALLY good at his job?
3. Myself. This is probably the biggest issue that I face. My flesh. My brain. My will. Me, me, ME. The first two opposing factors of obedience really accentuate the challenges that I have with the “Me factor.” However, as of late, God has really convicted me (again)… And here’s why…
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am very excited about the fact that this sweet blog/ministry is over a year old. I was stoked that I was able to blog plus/minus five days per week for a year. But in the last several weeks, God has spoken to me and called me to go something of a different direction with gentle (but heart-tugging) reminders like:
“Remember daughter, you are NOT defined by what you do, but by WHO you are in Christ.”
“Be Still… And Know… That I AM Lord.”
“When you work, remember WHO you are working for… You are employed by ME.”
That being said, my Big Boss upstairs has called me to a season of SLOWING DOWN. (He has instigated this mandatorily through my continued struggle with pneumonia and other physical junk.) I have struggled taking time to rest and be with Him via Sabbath and regular sabbaticals. And this inability to physically slow down is spilling over into my spiritual/emotional life.
So, in a challenging act of obedience, I am taking a few weeks to reduce my blogging from daily (aka five days a week) to three days a week. It might be temporary. It might be permanent-ish. Only God knows. (Literally.)
It kind of freaks me out. Because I like my routine. But I know that the Lord knows what He is doing. Plus, He has called my husband to tackle another month of the 7 Experiment by Jen Hatmaker... So for the next month we are fasting MEDIA. As in, no TV, no digital games and minimal Facebook/Twitter time for me (to simply keep my ministry going.) I am allowed 8 min per day on Facebook, 5 or less on Twitter. (And yes, I use a timer.) Oh, and absolutely no technology after my hubby walks in the door from a day of drill sergeant-ing. Which is a great excuse to try out this less-computer, more-Jesus lifestyle.
I am not quite sure what this new season looks like for us… But I am excited to see what God is going to do!
Overruling the Opposition to Obedience,
SGK
PS: Where do you struggle most in your life with being obedient to God? What are your biggest obstacles or opposition? It would be so encouraging to hear about how God lifts you up through your experiences. Leave a comment below!
“Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.” ~2 Corinthians 10:6 (MSG)
Source: Blogger Ralph via Flickr
